Walkabout York

York is just a short (30-minute) train ride from Harrogate and has so much to offer, but we don't go there that often. It is usually mobbed with tourists. We decided to get an early start and head out there yesterday to catch the daffodils in bloom. (If you go by train on Sunday you simply can't get an early start -- the first train doesn't leave until 11:30 a.m.) We wanted to walk around the old town on top the medieval city walls, hoping for some scenic vantage points. Most of the walls and many of the towers are still intact. A brochure we picked up at the tourist office states that the York city walls are two miles long and are the longest town walls in England. It also states that no-one has fallen off the walls since 1992! Not a very comforting statistic -- I'd have much rather heard that it had been 50 or more years since someone fell off! It's quite an easy walk with only a few flights of stairs and level walking all the way round. In some places the walkway is quite narrow, making it a little bit nervewracking when you meet someone coming from the opposite direction. There are guard rails only on the sections that pass over roadways. The section with the narrow walk ways is where one gets the prettiest views of the city and the Minster. (I wonder if that is where the 1992 fall occurred -- arresting view, narrow walk???) Other vantage points were not so scenic with views of industrial parks and shopping centers. We were happily rewarded with a profusion of daffodils just about everywhere we looked. When we started out at around 9:45 a.m. there were a handful of other walkers atop the walls. By the end of our walk it was getting positively crowded with whole busloads of tourists ambling by. After our wall walk we went into town and browsed an antique center. They had a lovely assortment of items including an entire floor devoted to art deco, but the prices were way out of our range. We had lunch in the National Trust tea room then moseyed on home. It's nice to know that York is so close by and we don't have to squeeze too many activities in when we go there. We'll just head back another day...

Guise Cliff

Today the Thursday Ramblers tackled Guise Cliff, a craggy cliff that overlooks the village of Pateley Bridge. I almost didn't go. It was a cold drizzly morning and it seemed as if the rain might get worse. But I had promised to give a ride to three other hikers, so I decided I couldn't let them down. And indeed the rain did get worse during the start of our hike, but then eased up later on. It was an incredibly tough climb (for me, at least) up to the summit of Guise Cliff. The path was extremely muddy. I tripped on tree roots, stumbled over rocks, slid on soggy moss and staggered my way up the hill. But I am oh so glad I toughed it out. The views from the top of the cliff were spectacular, despite the fact that it was so misty. And the views along the path were also quite scenic. We passed a tree that had been uprooted, perhaps in a storm, but had miraculously sprouted roots from its fallen limb and what would have been branches to the side had grown tall and straight, becoming new trunks. It seems as if every stone and boulder along the way was covered with moss so intensely green it almost looked fluorescent. We came to Yorke's Folly -- two stone pillars erected on the top of the cliff for no reason whatsover but to create a mock ruin and to provide employment for local people during a time of depression. And then there was False Teeth Bridge, so named because you can see the upper portion of a set of false teeth embedded in the cement. No one really knows how they got there. After our descent we walked through the little village of Bewerley and made a brief stop in the Bewerley Grange Chapel. The quaint stone structure, built in 1496, was charming and cozy with just enough room for a congregation of about 40. Lunch was at the Royal Oak pub in Pateley Bridge. I tried a vegetarian version of Yorkshire pudding. It was filled with carrots and broccoli and vegetarian gravy. A great concept, but would have been better if they hadn't cooked the broccoli to death.

I did it!!!

This week I drove on narrow twisty turny roads to Pateley Bridge. Not once, not twice...but three times! I went a bit slower than the speed limit on the real twisty and real steep portions and got passed a few times. But I didn't care. I think a lot of people drive these roads too fast anyhow. It gave me the willies driving on the High Street in Pateley Bridge. It is a two-way road but is so narrow it looks as if there is barely room for two vehicles to fit side by side. Lucky for me, each time I took the High Street I never met an oncoming vehicle. Whew! What a liberating feeling it is to have taken this step. Now, maybe I'll pluck up the courage to venture even farther afield on the local roads.

A Long Walk

Today I joined the hiking group for a ramble on the mosaic trail in Yorkshire. The trail follows a six-mile circular route marked by whimsical mosaics mounted in stone. The mosaics, created by local craftsmen and women, depict local flora, fauna and landmarks.

Getting to the start of the trail was an adventure in itself. We drove through the village of Pateley Bridge (about a half hour outside of Harrogate) and began our way up and up. I thought I had seen steep and narrow roads before, but this route beat them all. At times we were on a roadway just wide enough for one car, with stone walls on either side of us. Mind you, this is a two-way road -- I don't know what you do if you come upon an oncoming vehicle. I guess someone has to back up to a wider spot to let the other one get through. And steep roads! My heart was in my mouth more than once. Finally, we made our way to a small car park, seemingly in the middle of nowhere and began our ramble.

It was a vigorous hike that took us through many different types of terrain: muddy patches, marshy grass, rocky paths, a small stream, narrow stiles and bridges, a few gentle and not so gentle hills. We even walked through moorland heather (difficult to walk in!). We walked through one sheep field after another and saw many different species of sheep. The best part was seeing the adorable little lambkins, either nursing, sleeping or gamboling about. We also saw horses, cows, pigs and lapwings. The countryside was beautiful in a raw and rugged way. We passed a few farms here and there and marveled at the life these people must have high up on the moors -- I'm sure they work very hard, but they are surrounded by such beauty. The mosaics were a treat as well. Every time we came upon one all the camera-toting hikers (me included) began taking photos.

It began as a pleasant walk...until we got lost! We were wandering about for a few hours on the moors, backtracking and walking in circles (or figure eights as someone suggested) till we found our way back to the starting point. We had begun at 10:30 in the morning and by that time it was 2 p.m. This means we missed lunch (pubs usually close by 2 p.m.) and we began to get rained upon. Despite the last couple of hours wandering about in circles, it really was a rewarding hike.

Sweet Dream

Last night I dreamt about our dog Taffy who died a little over a year ago. In my dream I had taken her to the vet for some reason or other. The vet's treatment was to shave off all her fur. I was horrified to see her bald all over. She looked so vulnerable. But two days later all her fur had grown back. Her fur was a lovely chestnut color and was sleek and shiny. Taffy herself was perky as a puppy. I was so happy to see her bouncing around with youthful vigor.

Out Rambling Again

Yesterday I joined the Thursday Ramblers for a five-mile hike. It was a particularly scenic walk through Chevin Forest Park, situated atop a hill between Harrogate and Leeds. The hike included some very steep hills and I found myself huffing and puffing along. Yesterday was bitterly cold but we all exerted ourselves so much on the hike that we began peeling away some of our layers of clothes. Our efforts were rewarded with panoramic views of the Yorkshire countryside. The skies were quite hazy so our view was a bit diminished and we could not see such distinctive landmarks as the White Horse (a horse etched out in chalk on a mountainside); but the view was quite impressive, nonetheless. We walked through a former rock quarry where we saw some incredible boulders, at another point we walked past some beautiful moss and fern covered rocks, then we came to a curious line of stone slabs. They looked like headstones and were planted shoulder to shoulder along a pathway. We also saw a curious totem-like statue carved out of wood. Many coins had been pounded into the wood; someone on the walk said they had seen something similar on another hike -- must be a ramblers' tradition. The walk took a little over two hours when we made our way to the Royalty Pub for lunch.

Mah Jongg Mondays

I've started playing Mah Jongg with some women from the base. We usually meet on Monday afternoons, but have started to have additional games on Fridays. We are a fledgling group and have had trouble recruiting and keeping members. I can sort of understand why. Mah Jongg (at least with the rules we follow) is a complicated and often frustrating game. I was lured in by the beauty of the tiles and the symbols depicted on them. I found the set-up for each game of play to be enchanting: you built a (great) wall out of the tiles. Each player position is named after one of the four winds. I'm struggling with my Mah Jongg strategy. Once or twice I might win a game, but usually I lose miserably. Why do I keep up with it? Maybe in the hopes that, with practice, I'll get better at this game. If I quit the group now it may just dissolve altogether. We only have three active members. Ideally, you need four for a game of Mah Jongg, but you can play with just three. You can't play with just two players.

Sunday Rambling

We woke up this morning to glorious sunshine. It was still rather cold outside but we thought we'd go for a walk around Eccup Reservoir. The area is popular with walkers and with birdwatchers in particular. Eccup is one of the best places to see red kites, a once-endangered species that has been reintroduced in North Yorkshire to great success. We drove about 25 minutes out of Harrogate and parked our car at the New Inn, a cozy pub near the villages of Eccup and Weardly (I kid you not). From there we began hiking on public footpaths till we came to a path that encircles the reservoir. It was rather muddy going in spots and shortly after we began walking the weather changed from bright sunshine to gray skies, chilly winds and icy rain. Brrrrrr. One of the public footpaths took us across a field full of cows. They were all off in a distant corner but as we entered the field one of the cows began to mooooo quite stridently. I joked with Brad that they were planning to stampede us. To our surprise, the cows did begin to approach us, slowly at first, but at an increasingly rapid rate. We couldn't believe our eyes and oh how wished I had a camera at hand. We think the cows must have thought we were farm workers come to feed them or lead them back to their barn. Soon we crossed over a cow-proof fence. They all wanted to follow us, I just know it, but contented themselves with crossing over another field towards their barn. We continued walking and walking. The weather would clear up and the sun would come out. Then the skies would cloud over and the wind would pick up again. Typical English weather, I guess. We walked and walked some more. I think the whole walk was about 5 or 6 miles long. We ended up back at the New Inn, with sore muscles and grumbling tummies. We tucked into some delicious Yorkshire puddings then headed back home. We never saw one red kite during our ramble, but Brad spotted one as we were driving home.

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Barcelona: Day 5 continued

We visited the Palau de la Musica Catalana in the morning. It is a concert hall designed by our old friend Domenech i Montaner (he also designed the Hospital of San Pau). Unlike the other Modernista buildings in Barcelona, the Palau de Musica is situated in the Barri Gotic. It is profusely decorated with colorful mosaics and rich stained glass. The acoustics are said to be superb and it is considered to be one of the most beautiful concert halls in the world. We would have loved to have gone there for a performance, but none were scheduled during our visit. The only other way to see the Palau is by guided tour and we found it well worth the admission fee.

After the Palau de la Musica Catalana we paid a visit to the Picasso Museum. Though Picasso was born in Malaga, he spent his youth in Barcelona before he moved to Paris. Apparently he never threw anything out. The museum was full of small oil paintings he did as a teenager in Barcelona. The collection followed Picasso's career, though is heavy on his early works and does not feature any of his major works. Even so, we both enjoyed the museum very much. I especially enjoyed the room devoted to Las Meninas -- a series of interpretive paintings Picasso did after a famous one by Velazquez. The museum is housed in five adjoining medieval palaces and sometimes when I walked into a room I didn't know whether to look at the paintings or the architectural features of the room first.

We had some time left over for a little bit of shopping and lunch (tapas, of course!) before making our way to the airport. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Barcelona. It is a beautiful city, very clean and the people were friendly. It is easy to get around in Barcelona; many of the main sights are within walking distance of each other. Other sights are easily accessible via the clean and efficient metro. On the down side, prices were a bit high. The biggest surprise for me was the language. The Spanish they speak in Barcelona is very different from the Spanish I studied in college. Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia whose language, Catalan, was surpressed during the Franco years. Catalan has had a complete revival and is used widely in everyday life in Catalonia. The Catalan language looked a bit exotic to me, sort of resembling a mix of Portuguese and French. My favorite Catalan word is Xocolata. It means chocolate, of course!

Barcelona: Day 5

We leave Barcelona today, but our flight doesn't depart till 5:40 p.m. so we still have most of the day for exploring. Today we are scheduled to visit the Palau de Musica, another example of Modernista architecture. And we also plan to stop in at the Picasso museum.

Barcelona: Day 4

We caught the metro to another side of town this morning in search of Encants Vells, the flea market that takes place three times a week at Plaza de les Glories. We arrived at the plaza to find scores of vendors with their wares spread out on blankets on the ground. Walking through, we saw nothing but junky stuff: old clothes, books, videos, electronics. Very disappointing. We were getting ready to make our way further on when Brad spotted the real flea market just across the road from the plaza. There the vendors had tables or proper stalls to display their wares. There was still quite a lot of junk, but we also saw collectables as well as furniture, hardware, tools ... even electrical appliances. Again, we looked but did not buy.

After the flea market we walked up Avinguda Diagonal towards the Temple of the Sagrada Familia, architect Antoni Gaudi's last work and obsession. Walking up the Avinguda Diagonal we got another view of the city. The buildings were not so grand, the streets a little rougher and dirtier. Even so, we still felt quite safe. Brad and I had both seen dozens of photos of Sagrada Familia and were hoping we'd like the temple better once we saw it in person. In photos the temple looks like a very gaudy (pardon the pun) stone structure, with what look like globs of cement drooping off spiky spires. Well, neither of us cared for Sagrada Familia in person, either. In fact it looked worse up close. I hadn't realized that the tops of the spires had colored tiles on them. They were arranged in the same style one sees in the Modernist houses designed by Gaudi, but they looked so out of place on the temple. I was surprised to see the word Hosannah emblazoned repeatedly on the spires. The stone letters looked very clunky. Gaudi died before the temple was finished, run over by a streetcar. He is buried in the crypt of Sagrada Familia, ironically in the gothic portion of the temple that was there before Gaudi's work began. Work on the temple is still ongoing and controversial. There are some that believe the temple should be left unfinished. Still others believe it should be torn down.

From the temple we took a stroll along Avinguda Gaudi. Like many of the large boulevards in Barcelona, the center of the street is a wide pedestrian walkway. At the other end of Avinguda Gaudi is another Modernist architectural creation, The Hospital de La Santa Creu i Sant Pau. The architect of the Hospital is Lluis Domenech i Montaner, one of Gaudi's contemporaries. The hospital is quite a complex with several pavilions, covered corridors and garden areas spread over nine city blocks. The design of the buildings is a blend of traditional and modern features using materials like plain brick, colorful ceramic tiles and stained glass. The hospital was founded in 1401, is Europe's second oldest hospital and is still in use today.

We caught the metro back to the center of town and stopped off at a fancy little cafe in the Eixample district. My tummy had begun to feel a little queasy and all I wanted was a coke to help it settle down. Brad, however, ordered a cortado, an espresso (or short coffee) with some warm milk added. From the cafe it was a short walk to Casa Mila, another of Gaudi's architectural projects. Casa Mila is an eight-story apartment complex built between 1906 and 1910 with a radical design featuring a wavy undulating facade, fanciful chimney pots and Barcelona's first underground parking garage. Casa Mila is referred to as La Pedrera (stone quarry); it resembles a cliff face with cave-like windows and ironwork that resembles seaweed. As radical as the Sagrada Familia, I liked Casa Mila much better. Inside you can visit an apartment that is furnished as it would have appeared during Gaudi's time at the turn of the 20th century.

A few blocks from Casa Mila is Colmado Quilez, a gourmet grocery store with a wonderful selection of sherry, cheeses, coffee, candies and, best of all, chocolate. For lunch we stopped into a little nearby cafe. We both had tortilla bocadillos (omelet sandwichs). This time the omelets were made of egg only and they were cooked very thin on a griddle. Tasty and plain enough for my tender tummy.

We stopped back at the hotel to rest our weary feet. Dinner was tapas once again in Barri Gotic. Tapas suit us perfectly. I ordered one plain dish that my stomach could handle. Brad ordered other dishes that were spicier to suit his taste and appetite.

Barcelona: Day 3 continued

Before dinner we wandered down the Rambla, the pedestrian walkway that runs through the old town. There are so many sights to see along the Rambla -- there is a flower market followed by a pet market of sorts: several vendors with cage after cage of songbirds, pigeons ... even roosters (we wonder if they were supposed to be pets or dinner). There were also rabbits and hamsters for sale. The Rambla is also famous for its "living statues" -- street performers who dress in elaborate costumes but stand stock still as the world passes by them. There are also street musicians on the Rambla and on the side streets as well. There is a fantastic food market off the Rambla called La Boqueria, but my favorite thing to do was wander through the narrow winding alleys of the Barri Gotic. Most of the streets are pedestrian only since they are only three meters wide. They are paved with rectangular stone blocks and the buildings are made of stone as well. There are no trees or grass and it sounds stark, but was actually quite beautiful. There are many interesting cafes, restaurants, boutiques and galleries in the Barri Gotic and as you wander its streets you will eventually turn into an open square fronted by a grand palace or two. The streets were very clean and we always felt safe there.

We stopped in at 4 Cats, a bar and restaurant in the Barri Gotic, founded in 1897 and modeled on the Chat Noir cabaret of Paris it became a hangout for the avant garde of Barcelona. Picasso had his first solo exhibition at the 4 Cats and even designed their menu.

Barcelona: Day 3

Ahhh, the weather has finally cooperated. It was a pleasant sunny day today, warm enough for us to have lunch outdoors in Barceloneta.

Today we took the Barcelona metro to the Museum of Catalonian history near Barceloneta. Very informative with lots of hands-on displays. Then we took a stroll through Barceloneta, site of a former fishing village. The original dwellings were razed (I'm not sure why) and in their place row upon row of plain prefab flats were erected. We walked up and down the narrow streets of Barceloneta, from which nearly every balcony laundry was hung. We investigated a little food market where they were selling loads of fresh produce (including the largest bell peppers I've ever seen), sweets and baked goods, dry cured ham (hanging from the hooves!), scary looking fish, and wonderfully fragrant cheeses. Then we strolled along the water and were surprised to see what a large beach Barcelona has. There were even some body surfers out today. We ended up having a tasty lunch at a nice seafood eatery frequented by locals.

From Barceloneta we caught a cable car to Montjuic, a mountain that overlooks the city. The cable car only takes you up part of the way. You need to catch a funicular up to the top of the mountain where there is an old castle. Unfortunately, the funicular only operates on the weekend in winter. We weren't feeling energetic enough to venture the steep climb to the mountain top, so were content to ramble through the parks on Montjuic. Even though we weren't at the top of the mountain we still were rewarded with some wonderful views of the city.

Barcelona: Day 2

Today it is a bit warmer, but not by much. At least the skies were blue and the sun was shining, but there is still quite a chill in the air. We wandered all over the Barri Gotic today, making a stop in the medieval cathedral. It was a smallish cathedral, with many small chapels, intricately carved choir stalls and a crypt dedicated to Saint Eulalia. The most impressive feature for me were the cloisters -- a lovely garden area surrounded by stone corridors. The lush green of the garden with its palm trees belied the chilly temperatures outdoors.

We made several stops to view some notable samples of Barcelona's architecture. At the "Illa de Discordia", a block in the Eixample (more modern part of the city, literally means "expansion") famous for the conflicting styles of architecture of modernist architects, we were impressed by Casa Batllo by Antoni Gaudi. Gaudi's style is very playful and organic. We also stopped by Palau Guell, considered to be one of Gaudi's major works, but tickets to enter were sold out for the day. Another stop was the Palau de Musica Catalan, Barcelona's Concert Hall, said to be one of the most intricately decorated Modernist architectural delight of the city. It seems there will be no musical performances while we are in town, but we were able to purchase tickets for a guided tour on Thursday morning.

We walked up and down Las Ramblas, making several excursions along side streets. The Barri Gotic is very picturesque. There are many narrow pedestrianised streets and it seems there is something picturesque just about anywhere you look. I've taken a ton of pictures so far. We even made it down to the water front, saw the monument to Christopher Columbus, placed on the spot where he greeted Ferdinand and Isabella after his voyage to the New World in 1492. We spied some of the "naturalized" parrots that live in the palm trees nearby.

Barcelona is full of little sandwich places and we decided to try some bocadillos (sandwiches) for lunch. They are served on baguette-like rolls. Brad had a sausage bocadillo, while I had a spinach tortilla bocadillo. They were both absolutely delicious. Tortillas here are omelets, but the main ingredient is potato with just enough egg to bind the other ingredients together.

We also made a stop at a department store today. I was in search of a washcloth. I forgot that most hotels in Europe do not supply you with a washcloth. Usually I bring my own. Anyhow, it was an excuse to check out the largest dept. store in Barcelona. It was really nice but quite expensive.

We've stopped back at the hotel to rest our weary feet and figure out where we want to go for dinner tonight.